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4.5
Weak instructions. Website for "lookup" didn't work. Will find out next weak on road trip how it really does.Took me forever to install as not good at putting things together. Had to watch a video on YouTube on how to change to anchor method, but perhaps that isJust me not being mechanically inclined . If you are like me in this way , make sure you allow a couple of hours to figure it out…. Probably a snap for some people, but not meI recently purchased a bike and wanted to take it to local trails that I need to drive to in order to access. I went to REI to buy a bike rack for my car, a 2012 Scion tC, which is a hatchback and also has a rear lip spoiler. I was told that my car doesn't have anything to secure a trunk bike rack and that my options were a roof rack or to have something like a trailer mount attached to my car, but both options were very expensive. I got home and did a little research on my own and found out that this rack would work for my car because it attaches via a tension strap system. I did have to purchase glass mount hooks separately to replace the top hooks (because the hooks didn't work with the hatchback), but this rack is working out well for me. I did spend about an hour and a half initially fitting the rack to my car, but once the straps are adjusted, it doesn't take long to reattach this rack at later dates. I did buy straps to secure the bike tires and pedals from moving - I just wanted to make sure my car didn't get scratched in the transport process and also that the bike wouldn't catch any air. Also, the rack comes with a long strap to wrap around the bike and rack for the purposes of keeping air from getting in between the lower part of the back and the rack. So even though I was nervous about putting a rack on my car, I just got home from a two hour trip to the beach and had no problems going or coming. The only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 star review is that there are A LOT of straps involved in securing the bike.This was fairly easy to install on the hatch of the MDX. Only real issue was getting 2 child size bikes on the clips. The rubber strap to hold the bikes were nice but difficult to get off (which I guess is the point). Using your own bungies may be easier to tie the bikes down.I have really nice Yakima rails for the roof of my car and standup racks for my bikes which i use for long trips. Problem is, it's getting HARDER for me to get them up there all the time! So I like to do some rides locally - like 15 minutes from my house - and it is just too much of a pain to put them on and off the top all the time. So, thought i would give one of these a try knowing that I have not been a big fan of the strap on "clam shell" racks in the past. Too wobbly and unstable and I hate looking in the mirror and seeing the bikes flopping around going down the highway. Anyway, forget that, this one is super nice. Just used it today for the first time. After the initial fitting and figuring out the geometry for my car, that's important so read the instructions, it basically straps on in about two minutes and is super secure. Really for $100 bucks this thing is a great value and probably would hold up for a long trip too.The good first. It's very sturdy and it mounts on the trunk of my 2012 Camry very easily and quickly. I just returned from a 1400 mile trip with 2 bikes on this rack. I was never concerned about stability.That said, like other reviewers I found it difficult to get 2 bikes to fit. One road bike and one mountain bike. I had to really be patient to find the right configuration.I do not like the rubber straps that secure the bike in their cradles. They are very difficult to secure and just about impossible with sweaty hands after a ride. I don't believe my wife will be able to do it on her own and that is a bad thing since I bought this for her to easily transport her bike.The cradles slip too easily on the posts. At highway speeds the bikes were pushed to the far end of the posts. This increases the stress on the rack as the weight is further out. Well placed bungee cords helped, but did not totally alleviate this issue.If you are buying this rack for transporting your bike short distances it will probably be fine. But it has enough issues for longer trips and 2 bikes for me to think of looking for something else.I needed a cheap bike rack to strap onto a commuter car so that I could move one or two bikes from the house to the trail. I wanted something cheap and reliable. I managed to pick this thing up for ~$90 and couldn't be happier.At the time of writing this, I've used this thing about a dozen times. The first time around, getting it onto the car took 15 minutes. Lots of straps and it takes a few minutes to figure it out if you're coming from something much older. After that, it's ~5 minutes each time. The unit is heavy duty - nice thick tubing, doesn't appear to scratch the car, and has a really nice layout to position your bike on. The additional side straps keep the thing glued to your car. At one point, I had to take a curve at ~50mph with this thing strapped to the back of the car. It didn't budge.Overall, I'm very happy with it. It works. And for ~$90, why not?We purchased another Yakima product back 10 years ago and were impressed with how well its held up. When I wanted a smaller one for my car; we did not hesitate to purchase this Yakima product. It performed very well. It was very sturdy on the highway and kept my car scratch free. Highly recommend.Good option if you can’t afford / don’t want to go through the hassle of getting a hitch rack or a roof rack. Compact design, folds and fits away easily in the trunk, and to set it up or take it off the car only takes a matter of minutes.Rack de excelente calidad, se ajusta a cualquier coche y queda muy justo, la bicicleta casi no se mueve durante los trayectos.Nice and sturdy, looks awesome, easy to useCorrect!
